


Rebuilding Burnt Bridges

by Puregold



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I based this entirely on arguments I had with my mom growing up and times I got in trouble with her, I didnt villainize louie or della becuz I know how like, Mommy Issues, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, also its 3rd person perspective but it gets kinda weird an jumpy at times, people work, s2e19: Timephoon!, we argued a lot when I was younger but she handled it rly well and I love my mom aksjdfjkhfs, yo like yikes tho I had to write this cuz I was so sad abt that ending tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 13:13:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20583074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puregold/pseuds/Puregold
Summary: The aftermath of Della grounding Louie in "Timephoon!"





	Rebuilding Burnt Bridges

Louie was rolled over in his bed, hoodie up and cinched tightly. He had always been an angry crier, he couldn't help it, especially when he felt so ashamed and alone. His _mom_, who he barely even _knew_, just grounded him in front of his entire family and none of them had taken his side. Not even his brothers.

Speaking of brothers, it seemed that one had just entered based on the sound of the door opening and the pitter-pat of webbed feet on the wood floor. Louie didn't even have to look up. "What do you want, Dewey?"

"...Why did you say that to mom?" He asked, and Louie immediately recognized his hostile tone, so he said nothing. A pregnant pause hung in the air, Dewey expecting a reply, before he continued. "She's trying really hard, you know. She didn't leave us on purpose, and she was stuck there for a really long time trying to get back to us, so why can't you-"

"Oh my _God_, Dewford!" Louie shot upright to glare at his brother. "Can you just leave me alone? I already got grounded, I don't need you coming in here and getting all up in my face about it!"

"She's our _mom!_ She doesn't _like_ punishing us-"

"No, not us, me! She just doesn't like _me!_ "

"Hey..." Huey entered, soft eyes and concerned gaze set on Louie. Of course his eldest brother would want to come check up on him. "Louie, what are you talking about, of course mom loves us. She loves you."

"I didn't say love, I said _like_. She likes Dewey, they're practically the same person. She likes you too, Huey, you two just _love_ being nerds together. But she doesn't even know me, and I don't know her either..."

The brothers were at an impasse, at a loss for words. For the first time in his life, Huey didn't have the answer for everything. They then heard a soft knock on the door. "Boys? May I come in?"

Dewey didn't hesitate to walk over to the door and open it for their mother. She aimed a sad smile at the three of them. "Do you mind if I talk to Louie in private, please?"

Huey immediately went to give them space, while Dewey hesitated a moment before joining. The door shut, leaving Della and Louie alone with one another.

"Hey... Can we talk?" She asked, hopeful but ready to give him space if that's what he needed.

Louie hesitated, eyes fixed on the floor before he answered. "...I guess."

Della cleared her throat, holding back the hurt she felt at his comment before she spoke. "I don't... You know I don't _like_ punishing you, right? I hate seeing you upset, Louie. I just- I needed to hold my ground on this because I don't want you making the same mistakes I did. I had to learn the hard way. I was grounded on the moon for a _decade_, and even when I got back I was still dealing with the consequences. I _am_ still dealing with the consequences." She thought briefly of her current relationship with her youngest. "I love you, so _so_ much Louie and I hope you never doubt that."

There was another long pause before Louie finally broke the silence, his voice barely above a whisper. "I know you love me, so why am I still so... Angry, and sad and... I don't even know."

"Please tell me, Louie. Tell me what's bothering you, how you really feel about me. I can't fix this if I don't know what's wrong, if I don't know how. And believe me I know I have a lot to fix." She felt herself getting choked up, forcing it back down for the sake of her boy.

"I don't..." He stopped, kicking his feet awkwardly. "I don't wanna hurt your feelings."

"It's okay. Just be honest with me, even if it hurts." And by God did it hurt. She knew her absence had affected all her boys profoundly, but with Louie it felt so _real_, so terribly tangible.

"I just... You were gone my whole life, mom, and I got so used to that. Sometimes Dewey and me would fight about you. Or you, hypothetically speaking, and Uncle Donald always got so sad when we tried to bring it up. We didn't notice it till we got older but the week of our hatching he'd always get so sad, probably mourning your... Death-iversary. I didn't ever expect you to come back or show up and I made peace with that. And then you _did_ show up and some part of me is still wondering if it's real because it's happening so fast. Dewey and Huey have it right, they caught on right away and just started loving you like they'd always known you. Why can't it be easy for me like them? Why can't I just be happy and stop thinking about it so much? Why am I still so angry, what's wrong with me!?" He buried his face in his hands at his outburst, quietly crying to himself. He still didn't feel all that comfortable crying in front of his mom, for she felt like a stranger.

"Honey..." Della's voice cracked. Nope, no she can't cry, not now, not in front of Louie. If he was already struggling with feeling guilt and blaming himself she couldn't add onto that by crying. She would just have to be strong, put on a brave face like a mother _should_. "It's okay. You're okay. You don't have to have it all figured out, I promise. It's okay if you're angry at me for leaving, or sad that I was gone, or both. It's okay for you to still be dealing with that now that I'm back. You don't have-" She swallowed down a particularly hard lump in her throat. "You don't have to forgive me, you don't even have to love me if you don't want to."

"I love you, mom. Even if I'm mad at you I still love you." Louie was quick to reply, wanting to squash his mother's insecurities like flies. "And I _want_ to forgive you. I-I do forgive you, I think, but I'm still... I'm still hurt, and I'm still hurting and I just want it to go away."

Della's heart broke. Oh how she wanted to fix this, just snap her fingers and make it all better. She hated seeing her little duckling like this, full of doubt and fear and insecurities. He was too young to be feeling this way, to be going through all this. They all were. She wished she had never stepped foot on the Spear of Selene. She almost considered going back and stopping herself via the timetub, but they'd already learned what havoc that would wreak. And even then it might be worth it, just so she could be there this time and do it right and watch her boys grow up like she should've.

Finally, she spoke. "That's okay. I'm sorry, Louie, I am so sorry you're feeling that way and I'd do anything to make it better. I'm not lifting my grounding, but it's only because I love you. I won't- I'll try not to step on your toes in the future. It was... Inappropriate of me to discipline you in front of the family like that. I should've done so privately, I'm sorry." She took a deep breath. "Can you at least... Forgive me for that?"

Louie considered her words a moment, before replying. "...Yeah. Sorry I said that thing about the-"

"It's okay." Della was quick to reply. She didn't know if she ever wanted to hear about the Spear of Selene again. "Can... can I hug you?"

Louie paused, tilting his head as if considering it for a moment and by God wasn't her duckling just _adorable_, before he nodded once and turned to face her.

She smiled sweetly before sitting on the bed beside him and scooping him into a tight, warm, motherly embrace. She rubbed his back soothingly a few times, content to just sit there with him forever. In reality it only lasted a few minutes before Louie was squirming uncomfortably in her embrace.

"Okay, my neck is starting to hurt."

"Sorry." She said with a chuckle as she let go and walked to the door, turning once more to shoot her son a smile before she left.

As she turned the door, she could've swore she saw two little red and blue ducks dart down the hall. She rolled her eyes affectionately, they must've been listening in. Her boys.

**Author's Note:**

> ok gamers thanks 4 reading pls comment. I'm workin on a Mothers Day angst fanfic 4 ducktales as well as fenro nsfw one but we dont talk abt that cuz I dont want my boyfriend to find out im boutta write duckporn askjlfdhsldfk


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